Definition of the word brother

Last Updated:
7 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• brotha (Jamaican English, AAVE)
• brothah
• brothuh
• bruvver (Cockney, MLE)
• broth’r (obsolete)

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*bʰréh₂tēr

Inherited from Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of frater, friar, and pal.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹʌðə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹʌðɚ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɐðɘ(ɹ)/
• (th-fronting) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹʌvə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ʌðə(ɹ)

Noun[edit]

brother (plural brothers or (archaic in most senses) brethren)

1. Son of the same parents as another person.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector’s face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

2. A male having at least one parent in common with another (see half-brother, stepbrother).
3. A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.
   • 1975, New King James Version, Deuteronomy 23:19

     You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.

   Thank you, brother.

   I would like to thank the brother who just spoke.

4. (informal) A form of address to a man.

   Listen, brother, I don’t know what you want, but I’m not interested.

5. (African-American Vernacular) A black male.
   • 1991 January, SPIN, vol. 6, no. 10, page 58:

     SPIN: Aren’t you both as popular with white people as black people?

     L.L.: Oh, no question. But I’ve always said, that’s why when people say, «L.L., hey, like, on the last album, you sold out,» I say, «Yo, can I ask you a question, Mike Tyson sell out?» «No, he’s a brother.» I say, he’s a cross-over artist. He went pop. You know what I’m saying? I mean, the rap audience […] they have to understand that their music is for all people. Me personally, I don’t think it’s about being black or white, […]

   • 2013, Gwyneth Bolton, Ready for Love:

     But damn if they knew when to just leave a brother alone and let him sulk in silence.

6. Somebody, usually male, connected by a common cause, situation, or affection.
   • 1963, Martin Luther King Jr.

     The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.

   • 2016, William Burkholder, The City of My Brothers:

     O, then! To ride upon such glories, Till my time comes nigh, And commune in the city of peaceful slumbers Among my brothers of wind-blown rye.

7. Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.

   • And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers.

8. (poetic) Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.

   • 1995, Theophus H. Smith, Conjuring Culture, page 89:

     The eighteenth century text, with its antislavery message and its Adamic figuration, calls implicily for the reconciliation of all peoples as «brothers» (not the reprehensible brothers of Joseph but the cocreated brothers of Adam).

   • 1908 June, Grace Kellogg, “A Keeper of the Door”, in National Magazine, volume 28, page 280:

     Oh, my Brothers, five nights ago many of our braves were out upon the buffalo grounds.

   • 2010, Justin B. Richland, Sarah Deer, Introduction to Tribal Legal Studies, page 193:

     In the case of the boy, a certain amount of instruction comes from the male members of the mother’s clan, such as how to go after game, how to handle horses, how to dress, how to conduct yourself and what to seek in life. They also teach the boy how to treat domestic animals. Even pets understand kindness, and the clan brothers use that as an example.

   • 2020, Xiao Xiao Ma Jia Hao, Three Kingdoms: Super Hegemon:

     The carriage that the brothers of the Kai clan rode on had travelled a lot these past few days, and the horses that pulled the carriage were exhausted.

Usage notes[edit]

• The plural “brethren” (cf. “sistren”, “sistern”) is not used for biological brothers in contemporary English (although it was in older usage). It still finds use, however, in the meaning of “members of a religious order”. It is also sometimes used in other figurative senses, e.g. “adherents of the same religion”, “countrymen”, and the like.

Hypernyms[edit]

• (son of common parents): sibling

Coordinate terms[edit]

• (with regards to gender): sister

Derived terms[edit]

(Abbreviations): bro, brah, bra, bruh, bruv, bruvver

[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• Bahamian Creole: bredda
• Belizean Creole: breda
• Bislama: brata
• Cameroon Pidgin: bro̱da
• Gullah: broda
• Hawaiian Creole: braddah
  • → English: braddah
• Islander Creole English: broda
• Kabuverdianu: bróda
• Krio: brohda
• Nicaraguan Creole: brada
• Nigerian Pidgin: broda
• Pichinglis: brɔda
• Pijin: brata
• Saramaccan: baáa
• Sranan Tongo: brada
  • → Dutch: brada
• Tok Pisin: brata, barata
• → Japanese: ブラザー
• → Korean: 브라더 (beuradeo)
• → Portuguese: brada (Mozambique), bróder (Brazil)

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

brother (third-person singular simple present brothers, present participle brothering, simple past and past participle brothered)

1. (transitive) To treat as a brother.
   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother?

Translations[edit]

Interjection[edit]

brother

1. Expressing exasperation.

   We’re being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother!

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• broþer, broþir, broþur, broder, broðer, brothir, brothur, broiþer, bruther, brodir, broder, brothre, broþre, brodyr
• (Ormulum) broþerr

Etymology[edit]

From Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of frere.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈbroːðər/

Noun[edit]

brother (plural brether or bretheren or brotheren or (rare) brothers, genitive brother or brothers)

1. A brother or brother-in-law; a male sibling.

   • c. 1200, Ormin, “Dedication”, in Ormulum, lines 1-4:

     Nu bꝛoþerr Wallterr bꝛoþerr min / Affterr þe flæſheſſ kinde / ⁊ broþerr min i Criſſtendom / Þurrh fulluhht ⁊ þurrh trowwþe […]

     Now, brother Walter, my brother / by way of blood relation / and my brother in Christendom / through baptising and through faith […]

2. A (Christian) man (i.e. as a «brother in life/brother in Christ»).

   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[1], published c. 1410, Apocalips 1:9, page 117v, column 2; republished as Wycliffe’s translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     I ioon ȝoure bꝛoþer ⁊ partener in tribulacioun ⁊ kingdom ⁊ pacience in criſt iheſu .· was in an ile þat is clepid pathmos · foꝛ þe woꝛd of god · ⁊ foꝛ þe witneſſyng of iheſu

     I, John, your brother and partner in tribulation, the Kingdom, and endurance in Jesus Christ, was on an island that’s called Patmos for the word of God and for the witnessing of Jesus.

3. A blood brother; one in a mutual pact of loyalty between two.
4. Another member of a religious community or order (when one is a member)
5. Another member of a guild or craft association (when one is a member)
6. A male individual who one has a close platonic relationship with.
7. (rare) One of one’s peers as a ruler; (another) ruler.
8. (rare) A relative or family member who is a man.
9. (rare, alchemy) Something similar to something else.

[edit]

• brotherhede
• brother-in-lawe
• brotherles
• brotherly
• brotherwort

Descendants[edit]

• English: brother (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: brither, bruther, broder, bruder
• Yola: brover, brower

References[edit]

• “brọ̄ther, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-21.

Old Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *brōþer.

Noun[edit]

brōther m

1. brother

Descendants[edit]

• North Frisian:

  Amrum: bruder

  Föhr: bruler

  Northern Goesharder: (Hoolmer) broor, (Hoorninger) brår

  Southern Goesharder: brööðer

  Hallig: bröör

  Halunder: Bruur

  Mooring: brouder

  Söl’ring: Bröðer

• Saterland Frisian: Brúur, Brour
• West Frisian: broer

Portuguese[edit]

Noun[edit]

brother m (plural brothers)

1. Alternative spelling of bróder

broth·er

 (brŭth′ər)

n. pl. broth·ers

1. A male having the same parents as another or one parent in common with another.

2. pl. also breth·ren (brĕth′rən) One who shares a common ancestry, allegiance, character, or purpose with another or others, especially:

a. A kinsman.

b. A fellow man.

c. A fellow member, as of a fraternity, trade union, or panel of judges on a court.

d. A close male friend; a comrade.

e. A fellow African-American man or boy.

3. pl. also brethren Something, such as a corporation or institution, that is regarded as a member of a class: «A station that … relies on corporate contributions or advertising to survive runs the risk of becoming virtually indistinguishable from its commercial brethren» (W. John Moore).

4.

a. Abbr. Br. or Bro. A lay member of a religious order of men.

b. pl. also brethren A fellow member of the Christian church.

---

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

brother

(ˈbrʌðə)

n, pl brothers or (archaic except when referring to fellow members of a religion, sect, society, etc)brethren

1. (Genetics) a male person having the same parents as another person

3. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms)

a. a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; fellow member

b. (as modifier): brother workers.

4. comrade; friend: used as a form of address

5. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity

a. a member of a male religious order who undertakes work for the order without actually being in holy orders

b. a lay member of a male religious order

interj

slang an exclamation of amazement, disgust, surprise, disappointment, etc

[Old English brōthor; related to Old Norse brōthir, Old High German bruoder, Latin frāter, Greek phratēr, Sanskrit bhrātar]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

broth•er

(ˈbrʌð ər or, for 9, ˈbrʌðˈɜr)

n., pl. broth•ers, (Archaic) breth•ren; n.

1. a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; male sibling.

4. a man or boy numbered in the same kinship group, nationality, race, society, etc., as another.

5. (often cap.)

a. a male numbered among the lay members of a religious organization that has a priesthood.

b. a man who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.

c. (used as a title for a brother, monk, or friar.)

6. Slang. fellow; buddy.

interj.

7. (used to express disappointment, disgust, or surprise.)

[before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōthor; c. Old Saxon brōthar, Old High German bruodar, Old Norse brōthir, Gothic brothar, Greek phratēr, Latin frāter, Skt bhrātṛ]

broth′er•less, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Translations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A brother (PL: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling.^[1] The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familial relationships.^[2] A full brother is a first degree relative.

Overview

The term brother comes from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr, which becomes Latin frater, of the same meaning. Sibling warmth or affection between male siblings has been correlated to some more negative effects. In pairs of brothers, higher sibling warmth is related to more risk taking behaviour, although risk taking behaviour is not related to sibling warmth in any other type of sibling pair. The cause of this phenomenon in which sibling warmth is only correlated with risk taking behaviours in brother pairs still is unclear. This finding does, however, suggest that although sibling conflict is a risk factor for risk taking behaviour, sibling warmth does not serve as a protective factor.^[4] Some studies suggest that girls having an older brother delays the onset of menarche by roughly one year.^[5] Research also suggests that the likelihood of being gay increases with the more older brothers a man has.^[6] Some analyzers have suggested that a man’s attractiveness to a heterosexual woman may increase with the more he resembles her brother, while his unattractiveness may increase the more his likeness diverges from her brother.^[7] Females with a twin or very close-in-age brother, sometimes view him as their male alter ego, or what they would have been like, if they had a Y chromosomes.^[8]

Fraternal relationship

The book Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII written by Aristotle in 350 B.C.E., offers a way in which people should view the relationships between biological brothers. The relationship of brothers is laid out with the following quote:
«The friendship of brothers has the characteristics found in that of comrades and in general between people who are like each other, is as much as they belong more to each other and start with a love for each other from their very birth, and in as much as those born to the same parents and brought up together and similarly educated are more akin in character; and the test of time has been applied most fully and convincingly in their case».^[9]
For these reasons, it is the job of the older brother to influence the ethics of the younger brother by being a person of good action. Aristotle says «by imitating and reenacting the acts of good people, a child becomes habituated to good action». Over time the younger brother will develop the good actions of the older brother as well and be like him. Aristotle also adds this on the matter of retaining the action of doing good once imitated: «Once the habits of ethics or immorality become entrenched, they are difficult to break.»^[10] The good habits that are created by the influence of the older brother become habit in the life of the younger brother and turn out to be seemingly permanent. It is the role of the older brother to be a positive influence on the development of the younger brother’s upbringing when it comes to the education of ethics and good actions. When positive characteristics are properly displayed to the younger brother by the older brother, these habits and characteristics are imitated and foster an influential understanding of good ethics and positive actions.

Famous brothers

• Gracchi, Ancient Roman reformers
• George Washington Adams, John Adams II, and Charles Francis Adams Sr., politicians
• Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, actors
• The Alexander Brothers; musicians
• Alec Baldwin, William Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, also known as the Baldwin brothers; actors
• John and Lionel Barrymore, actors
• Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins
• George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Neil Bush and Marvin Bush, sons of George H. W. Bush
• David Carradine, Keith Carradine, and Robert Carradine, American actors
• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, and Roger Clinton, Jr., his younger half-brother
• Joel and Ethan Coen; filmmakers
• Stephen Curry and Seth Curry; current NBA point guards in the Western Conference
• Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Major League Baseball pitchers
• Mark DeBarge, Randy DeBarge, El DeBarge, James DeBarge, and Bobby DeBarge, the male members of the singing group DeBarge
• Doud Eisenhower and John Eisenhower, sons of Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, actors
• Isaac Everly and Phil Everly, The Everly Brothers, singers
• Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher, members of Oasis (band)
• Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb, members of the Brothers Gibb or «Bee Gees» singing group
• John Gotti, Eugene «Gene» Gotti, Peter Gotti and Richard V. Gotti, and Vincent Gotti, New York «made men» with the Gambino crime family
• Frederick Dent Grant, Ulysses S. Grant, and Jesse Root Grant
• Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, known as the Brothers Grimm, German academics and folk tale collectors
• Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy, professional wrestlers
• Herbert Hoover Jr. and Allan Hoover
• Pau and Marc Gasol, professional basketball players
• O’Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley, and Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, and Vernon Isley, members of The Isley Brothers singer-songwriting group and band, which also included their brother-in-law, Chris Jasper
• Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson and Randy Jackson, members of The Jackson 5 and later The Jacksons
• Jesse and Frank James, Old West outlaws

• 

  John, Robert and Ted Kennedy, politicians

• Edward M. Kennedy Jr. and Patrick J. Kennedy, politicians
• Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte, race car drivers
• Robert Todd Lincoln, Edward Baker Lincoln, William Wallace Lincoln and Tad Lincoln, sons of Abraham Lincoln
• Loud Brothers, piano designers and manufacturers
• Eli and Peyton Manning, National Football League quarterbacks
• Mario and Luigi, video game characters
• John McCain, U.S. Senator and two-time presidential candidate, and Joe McCain, American stage actor, newspaper reporter
• Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, podcasters
• Billy Leon McCrary and Benny Loyd McCrary, wrestlers known as The McGuire Twins
• Harold Nixon, Richard Nixon, Donald Nixon, Arthur Nixon, and Edward Nixon
• Alan Osmond, Wayne Osmond, Merrill Osmond, Jay Osmond and Donny Osmond, members of The Osmonds
• Logan Paul and Jake Paul, YouTubers, internet personalities, and actors
• Neil and Ronald Reagan
• Ringling brothers, circus performers, owners, and show runners
• John D. Rockefeller and William Rockefeller, co-founders of Standard Oil and members of the Rockefeller family
• Cornelius Roosevelt and James I. Roosevelt
• Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Kermit Roosevelt, Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, and Quentin Roosevelt
• James Roosevelt, Elliot Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., and John Aspinwall Roosevelt
• Russo brothers, filmmakers, producers, and directors
• Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, professional hockey players
• Wallace Shawn and Allen Shawn, writer and composer of The Fever
• Bobby Shriver, Timothy Shriver, Mark Shriver, and Anthony Shriver
• Thomas «Tommy» Smothers and Richard «Dick» Smothers, performing artists known as the Smothers Brothers
• Prabowo Subianto and Hashim Djojohadikusumo, politicians
• Fred Trump Jr., Donald Trump, and Robert Trump
• Vincent van Gogh, painter, and Theo van Gogh, art dealer
• J. J. Watt, T. J. Watt, Derek Watt, National Football League Players
• Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, performing artists, directors and producers
• Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein, film producers
• Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson, members of The Beach Boys
• Marvin Winans, Carvin Winans, Michael Winans, and Ronald Winans, members of The Winans, singers and musicians
• Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, known as the Wright brothers, pioneer aviators
• Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, politicians

Other works about brothers

• In the Bible:
  • Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve
  • Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
  • Moses and Aaron, prophets
  • Sts. Peter and Andrew, apostles
  • Sts. James and John, apostles
  • Sts. Thomas and his unnamed twin brother
• My Brother, My Brother, and Me, podcast
• Saving Private Ryan (1998), film
• Simon & Simon, television series
• Supernatural, American television series
• The Brothers Karamazov, novel
• The Wayans Bros., television series
• Bonanza (1959–1973), television series
• In the Ramayana:
  • Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna
• In the Mahabharata:
  • The Pandavas – Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Bhima, Sahadeva and Nakula
  • The Kauravas – One hundred brothers including Duryodhana, Dushasana and Vikarna, among others

See also

• Brotherhood (disambiguation)
• Sister
• Stepsibling

References

External links